Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Up 2.4% – Here’s Why

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)’s stock price shot up 2.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $189.20 and last traded at $188.18. 1,184,173 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 6,072,975 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMAT has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $217.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Applied Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Applied Materials from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $224.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $260.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.14.

Applied Materials Trading Up 1.5 %

The company has a 50 day moving average of $193.72 and a 200 day moving average of $208.41. The firm has a market cap of $154.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 27.74% and a return on equity of 39.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.39%.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 19,471 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,934,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Burr Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 1.2% in the third quarter. Burr Financial Services LLC now owns 38,345 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $7,748,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,813 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $770,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in Applied Materials by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 117,150 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $23,670,000 after buying an additional 4,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Applied Materials by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 24,145 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.